The invention relates to a device for exchanging an extrusion cylinder of an extruder, the extrusion cylinder consisting of several cylinder sections and at least one screw element, which is in the interior of the cylinder and must be coupled with the driving unit of the extruder for the purpose of extruding.
Extruders are used for preparing and processing different materials, for example, for preparing paint master batches or for compounding processes, as well as for processing thermoplastic materials. Moreover, in almost all areas, smaller batch sizes ranging, for example, from 25 to 1002 kg increasingly also play a role. In view of an optimum working process and an optimum result of the process, a conversion of the extrusion cylinder together with the screw elements in this cylinder would be required when a product is change. This is associated with intensive cleaning of those parts of the cylinder or the screw, which can also be used for processing the new materials. A conversion requires complete dismantling of the extrusion cylinder, consisting of segmented cylinder sections and screw sections. This takes a very long time, usually 1 to 2 days, and is associated with a prolonged downtime of the extruder, which is uneconomic. In view of this, a compromise is usually made in that the extrusion cylinder construction and screw construction are selected, which represent a bearable compromise with regard to the processing and the product quality obtained. Dismantling is therefore no longer required and, instead, the equipment is merely cleaned very intensively. Nevertheless, downtimes of 6 to 12 hours are also customary in this case and are associated with possible decreases in product quality and throughput since an extrusion cylinder, optimally designed for the respective product, is not used in this case.
The invention is based on the problem of indicating a possibility, which enables at extruder to be converted significantly more quickly.